October 2007 Archives

Radiohead are about to change the entire record industry. As one of the most popular modern rock acts currently in existance, they've opted to release their seventh album themselves, where you can either download it on October 10th or you can get a discbox version of the album on December 3rd that comes with an extra disc of completely new material.

The album, In Rainbows, has been complete for about a month, but the band has said they are meeting with labels about its release. The decision to put the album out with no label, no advance copies, no advertising, and no major in-store support is an amazing chance to really test the waters of how far a major band can go without a major label.

Oh, and did I mention that its pay what you want! Ha. Awesome. Here's the tracklisting:

CD 1 AND VINYL 15 STEP BODYSNATCHERS NUDE WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI ALL I NEED FAUST ARP RECKONER HOUSE OF CARDS JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE VIDEOTAPE

CD 2
MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING

You can buy the album here...........

DOWNLOAD: Radiohead - "Arpeggi"

This piece in the New Yorker caught my attention:

So Janet Reno was hanging out by the jukebox at Manitoba’s last Wednesday afternoon, down on Avenue B. She was sitting in a booth, sipping from a bottle of water, and staring straight ahead, in the direction of daylight, which there isn’t much of in Manitoba’s. She had on a black pants suit and moccasins. Her eyeglasses were a bit smudged. The owner of the bar, Handsome Dick Manitoba, the lead singer for the Dictators, the proto-punk band, had fed the jukebox with dollar bills, granting Reno credit for fifteen songs.

Read the entire "Talk of the Town" piece by Nick Paumgarten here......

The premiere of Saturday Night Live featured singing dork Andy Samberg, along with Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Jake Gyllenhaal, as he sang a gay love song to his dream boy, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

And on Friday, WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show did a segment with Arsham Parsi, the executive director of the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO) and is originally from Iran. He had to flee Iran in 2001 because of his activism surrounding homosexuality. Listen here.....

Van Halen kicked off their world tour in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday night. They played eight tracks from Van Halen (1978), three tracks from Van Halen II (1979), three tracks from Women and Children First (1980), three tracks from Fair Warning (1981), two tracks from Diver Down (1982) and five tracks from 1984 (1984).

The setlist, which isn't expected to change, after the jump........

It's about freakin' time:

A Los Angeles judge on Monday took away Britney Spears‘ custody of her two children, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1.

The former pop star, who the court labeled a frequent and habitual user of drugs and alcohol, must turn over custody of her kids to Kevin Federline by Wednesday.

The children will stay with K-Fed indefinitely, as he has been granted 100% full physical custody of the boys.

However, despite losing custody of her sons, the court specified on Monday that Spears must still adhere to the orders from a September 17th.

Those orders include:

- Random drug testing.

- Attending individual counseling at least once a week to address parenting issues.

- Meeting with a parenting coach for a minimum of 8 hours a week, in at least two sessions a week.

Who would have thunk that Kevin would be the mature, responsible one. I thought these kids would end up with Brit's mom or something......

What the fuck is wrong with our government?!?! I continue to be in shock and awe of their actions. Here's the latest disaster to emerge from the Democrat controlled Senate:

Thwarted in efforts to bring troops home from Iraq, Senate Democrats on Monday helped pass a defense policy bill authorizing another $150 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 92-3 vote comes as the House planned to approve separate legislation Tuesday that requires President Bush to give Congress a plan for eventual troop withdrawals.

Hoping the political landscape changes in coming months, Democratic leaders say they will renew their fight when Congress considers the money Bush wants in war funding.

While the Senate policy bill authorizes the money to be spent, it does not guarantee it; Bush will have to wait until Congress passes a separate appropriations bill before war funds are transferred to military coffers.

Democrats say their options include directing that the money be spent on bringing troops home instead of combat; setting a date when money for the war is cut off, and identifying a goal to end the war to try to pressure Bush to bring troops home.

Similar attempts have been made but fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate.

In addition to war money, the Senate's defense policy bill authorizes more than a half trillion dollars in annual military programs, including such big-ticket items as $10.1 billion for missile defense.

Republicans predict the bill is on track to be vetoed by President Bush because it includes hate-crimes legislation by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The White House has said Kennedy's proposal, which would let federal law enforcement help states prosecute attacks on gays, is unnecessary.

The Nay votes were cast by Senators Feingold (D-WI), Byrd (D-WV) and Coburn (R-OK).

Not voting were Presidential hopefuls McCain (R-AZ), Dodd (D-CT), Clinton (D-NY), Obama (D-IL) and Biden (D-DE).

"The Anti-Matter Anthology: A Book Release Concert & Benefit for Callum Robbins" shows that will feature a reunion of Snapcase have announced a second date. The gigs will happen on November 24th and 25th at The Music Hall of Williamsburg

108 and Triple Threat will open the show and Norman Brannon from Texas is the Reason will host the shindig. Tickets for both shows go on sale this Friday, October 5 at noon.

The beneficiary of the show will be Callum Robbins, the son of J. Robbins of Jawbox. Cal was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy last year and there has been support from many friends of the Robbins' with the most recent including a sold-out Dismemberment Plan reunion and a 31-track compilation featuring songs from Jawbreaker, Mission of Burma and many others..........

Daft Punk's Keypsan Park show may have just got a late challenger to their show of the year!

Spiritualized have announced a November 16th performance at Harlem's Apollo Theater. The "Acoustic Mainlines" performance will include the music of Spiritualized, Spacemen 3 and others. Spiritualized will be accompanied by a string quartet and gospel singers.

Tickets go on sale Friday, October 5th, at 10am..........

Just in case you didn't know, Google has launched their own version of 411 and its free. The number is 1-800-GOOG-411. Program that shit into your phone. The system has been in beta for almost a year, but its officially up and running now.......

Metromix and Fleet Team Booking have teamed up for an official CMJ Showcase at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 20th. The bill will feature Matt & Kim, Flosstradamus, The Hood Internet and Art Goblins. Tickets are $5 and now on sale.....

Get tickets here......

Simian Mobile Disco was supposed to do a DJ set at the Cheeky B*stard Party at the Hiro Ballroom tonight, but have been forced to cancel after James Ford was injured. Replacing them will be Bloc Party's Kele Okereke. RSVP Here. Here's the story:

True story... James Ford of Simian Mobile Disoc was playing soccer with the Arctic Monkeys and broke his collar bone (don't worry folks, he is going to be okay). Unfortunately he won't be able to DJ for us this week as his Doctor told him not to... Funnily enough though, our friends Bloc Party are in town, and were planning to stop by Hiro on Thursday (after their appearance on the Conan O Brien show). So after a little gentle persuasion, we can announce that Kele (along with one or two other as yet unspecified members of the band) will be filling the big hole that James left behind, and deejaying for us at this week's Cheeky B*stard Party.

Last night, Bloc Party played the WAMU Theatre with Tokyo Police Club and Smoosh. I didn't find the energy to be as high as it normally is during a Bloc Party show, but the band did produce some highlights. The surprise inclusion of b-side "“The Once And Future King” was an early one, but it was really the killer encores that made the show.

They started off the first encore with a new song called "FLUX," that they'll perform again tonight on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and then release as a stand-alone single on November 12th. During "She's Hearing Voices," Kele made his way into the energized crowd and then followed it up with fabulous version of "Helicopter" in which Smoosh joined them on stage..............

BLOC PARTY | WAMU THEATRE | 10-3-2007
Song For Clay (Disappear Here) / Positive Tension / Blue Light / Hunting For Witches / Waiting For The 7:18 / Banquet / This Modern Love / The Prayer / The Once And Future King / Uniform / So Here We Are / Like Eating Glass // Flux // Sunday // She's Hearing Voices //Helicopter /// Pioneers

We've been supporters of Celebration for quite some time (they headlined the second Product Show NYC party at the now closed Rothko) and we're really digging their second LP, The Modern Tribe.

The energetic three piece has a bunch of upcoming shows, including tonight at UnionDocs Bodega in Williamsburg, as well as CMJ shows at Union Hall and Brooklyn Vegan's free day party at Pianos. They then return to NYC in November for a headlining show at Bowery Ballroom.

Phew, that should be enough celebration for a little while......

DOWNLOAD: Celebration - "Heartbreak"
DOWNLOAD: Celebration - "Evergreen"

CELEBRATION TOUR DATES
Thur 10/4/07 Brooklyn, NY UnionDocs Bodega (322 Union Ave)
Tue 10/16/07 Brooklyn, NY Union Pool
Wed 10/17/07 New York, NY Pianos (Brooklyn Vegan Day Party)
Wed 10/24/07 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel
Thu 10/25/07 Durham, NC Duke Coffeehouse
Fri 10/26/07 Charleston, SC The Map Room
Sat 10/27/07 Orlando, FL Taste
Sun 10/28/07 Tampa, FL New World Brewery
Mon 10/29/07 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Tue 10/30/07 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
Wed 10/31/07 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree
Fri 11/2/07 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
Sat 11/3/07 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves
Sun 11/4/07 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest
Wed 11/7/07 Phoenix, AZ Casa Blanca Lounge
Thu 11/8/07 San Diego, CA Casbah
Fri 11/9/07 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
Sun 11/11/07 San Francisco, CA The Independent
Mon 11/12/07 Portland, OR Rotture
Tue 11/13/07 Seattle, WA Crocodile Café
Wed 11/14/07 Vancouver, BC Plaza Club
Fri 11/16/07 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
Sat 11/17/07 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
Mon 11/19/07 Omaha, NE Slowdown, Jr.
Tue 11/20/07 Fargo, ND Aquarium
Wed 11/21/07 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
Fri 11/23/07 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Sat 11/24/07 Bloomington, IN Waldron Arts Center
Wes 11/28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

Tiny Masters of Today finally put out Bang Bang Boom Cake, their impressive debut album that's just be released from Mute. My favorite track happens to be "Hologram," which is the one that features Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O and Nick Zinner.

Also, you think the cover is reminiscent of that picture of Kurt from inside Nirvana's Bleach LP on purpose?

DOWNLOAD: Tiny Masters of Today - "Hologram (featuring Karen O & Nick Zinner)"

TINY MASTERS OF TODAY TOUR DATES
Oct 14 2007 4:00P Sound Fix Records In-Store Brooklyn, New York
Oct 16 2007 10:00P Club NME @ The Annex New York, New York
Oct 18 2007 8:00P World’s Fair CMJ Showcase @ Bowery Ballroom, w/ British Sea Power, Pela, 1990s new york, New York

The record industry won a major victory in their battle against peer-to-peer music servers. A federal jury unanimously found a thirty year-old Minnesota single mother Jammie Thomas guilty of shared copyrighted music online.

The court levied $222,000 in damages against her. While the six record companies that sued her alleged she had shared 1,702 songs, they focused on 24 songs only and charged her $9,250 for uploading each of those tracks...........

A judge shot down Idaho's Republican Senator Larry Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea for soliciting gay sex in a men's room at Minneapolis airport.

"Because the defendant's plea was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence ... the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied," Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter wrote.

But, in shocking move, the closeted Senator who always votes against anything that would create equal (or any) rights for homosexuals, has decided to stay in the Senate until the end of his term in 2008.

In related news, Minneapolis has previously been selected by the Republican National Committee to host the 2008 Republican Presidential Convention. I have a feeling that that bathroom is going to get a whole of television airtime, especially from The Daily Show........

Our dumb President. His message to poor children: "Get a job you lazy s.o.b.'s.".....

Bush's fourth veto Wednesday - rejecting legislation to expand a children's health insurance program to cover 4 million more kids - could prove the most controversial and costly to members of his Republican Party running for election next fall.

House and Senate Republicans are divided over the measure. Polls show the public favors expanding the program to help kids from low-income families who are not poor enough to qualify for government health care but still lack health insurance. The legislation is backed by 43 governors - including California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - who say the program isn't keeping pace with the swelling ranks of uninsured children.

In California, the legislation would provide 607,000 more children with insurance in addition to the 1.1 million who already benefit from the program.

The timing of the veto sets up an unenviable comparison for the White House. The president just sent a request to Congress for $189 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year. By contrast, the expanded children's health program would cost $60 billion over five years.

Bush most vocal supporter is Senator McCain.....

We were just talking about the Republican Presidential Convention and now we get this: the official logo for the 2008 Republican Presidential Convention. Lets see:

Wide stance? Check. In Minneapolis? Check. Prison stripe? Check. Starry eyed? Check. Elephant screwing 2008? Check.

The Republicans are making this way to easy.....

An updated schedule for the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon. Anything getting you excited? Whom do you consider this year's buzz band? Seriously, anything turning you on.......

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16
PIANOS | Sam Champion, The Octagon, Rocketship Park, Benji Cossa, Two Man Gentleman Band, LOOKER, Unsacred Hearts
SILENT BARN | Dan Deacon, Deathset, Juiceboxxx, Team Robespierre, DD/MM/YYYY
MERCURY LOUNGE | Weston, Garrett Klahn, Aeroplane Pageant
GALAPAGOS | Cheeseburger, Via Audio, Tacks, the Boy Disaster, White Denim, Juiceboxxx
LUNA LOUNGE | The Hollow Sound, Breaking Laces, People Noise (ex-VHS or Beta), Unlove
HIRO BALLROOM | Cheeky B*stard w/ James Murphy, Annie Mac
BLENDER THEATRE | Q-Tip
BOWERY BALLROOM | Brooklyn Vegan Presents The Rosebuds, Dean & Britta, The Most Serene Republic, Miracle Fortress, The Shaky Hands, Bon Iver
UNION POOL | Celebration, Dragons of Zynth, Tall Firs, Effi Briest
WEBSTER HALL | Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Modern Life is War, The Low Budgets (ex-Dead Milkmen)
ARLENES GROCERY | The Teenage Prayers
PUCK BUILDING | 1090 Club, Takka Takka, Section Quartet, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Jennifer O'Conner

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17
MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG | After the Jump Fest presents: A Place to Bury Strangers, Foals, Cadence Weapon, Sam Champion, Yeasayer, Alberta Cross
FILLMORE NY | Serj Tankian, The Nightwatchmen
BOWERY BALLROOM | Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, No Age, White Williams
HIRO | A-Trak, DJ Mehdi, Kid Sister, The Cool Kids, Kavinsky, Nick Catchdubs
KNITTING FACTOARY | Oh My Rockness presents: We Are Wolves, Ida Maria, Monomen, Team Robespierre, Golden City
UNION POOL | The Black Swans, Lewis & Clarke, Dragon Turtle, Strand of Oaks
HIGHLINE | Global Drum Project featuring Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, & Giovanni Hidalgo
SOUTHPAW | Holly Beth Vincent (Holly and the Italians), Nikki Corvette and the Stingrays, the Little Girls, Miss Georgia Peach, and Black Tie Revue
LIONS DEN | Meat Puppets, Via Audio, Charlemagne, The Valley Area
LUNA LOUNGE | K Records Showcase: Saturday Looks Good to Me, Hornet Leg, Jeremy Jay, Adrian Orange
MO PITKINS | Will Kevans, Ladyfingers, Alpha Rev, Sister Suvi
CANAL ROOM | Christopher Denny, Arizona, Air Traffic, Division Day, Die Romantik, Dragonette
CLUB MIDWAY | Hot IQs, Care Bears On Fire, Mary Trembles, Let's Go Sailing, The Panda Band, Heartbreak Club, Four Trips Ahead
DON PEDROS | Mannequin Men, The Coathangers, The Clean Teens
GALAPAGOS | Holy Fuck, Cadence Weapon, Videohippos, New Violators, Oh No! Oh My!, Turbo Fruits, Bald Eagle, Titus Andronicus
BLENDER THEATRE | Xiu Xiu, Marnie Stern, Mary Timony, Mika Miko
SOUNDFIX RECORDS | Balthrop, Alabama, The Big Sleep, The Muggabears, The Jealous Girlfriends, Elk City, Aeroplane Pageant, Pre, Fatal Flyin' Guillotines
STUDIO B | Thunderheist, The Glamour
THE DELANCEY | Connan and The Mockasins, Oh No! Oh My!, The Deadly Syndrome, Foreign Born, The Red Romance, Cut Off Your Hands, The Wildbirds, Five O'Clock Heroes
R BAR | The Gaskets, Bearclaws
PIANOS | Holy Hail, Shock Cinema, Monsters Are Waiting, Mixel Pixel, The iOs
EUROPA | Theo & The Skyscrapers, Excellent, Bloody Social
PUCK BUILDING | Alberta Cross, Eskimo Joe, Roarke, Rock Plaza Central
PIANOS (DAY) | Brooklyn Vegan presents Meat Puppets, Celebration, Cut Off Your Hands

THURSDAY OCTOBER 18
BOWERY BALLROOM | British Sea Power, Pela, 1990s, Tiny Masters of Today, Stardeath And White Dwarfs, The Grey Race
STUDIO B | New Young Pony Club, Muscles, Simian Mobile Disco (DJ set), The Cool Kids
GALAPAGOS | Deli Magazine presents: The Giraffes, Beat the Devil, FIGO, Prairie Cartel
HIGHLINE | Islands (ex-Unicorns), ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Octopus Project, Enon, Yo Majesty
SOUTHPAW | Imperial Teen
THE ANNEX | Mates of State, Jack Penate
LUNA LOUNGE | Witchcraft, Saviours, Danava, Turzi, Audionom, Blood Ceremony
FILLMORE NY | Mute Math, Eisley, Spank Rock
MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG | Simian Mobile Disco, Invisible Conga People
TOWN HALL | Stars
UNION HALL | Division Day, The 1900's, Let's Go Sailing
WEBSTER HALL | Unkle, Holy Fuck, The Teenagers
KNITTING FACTORY TAP | The Loved Ones, Tim Barry, Smoke or Fire, The Falcon, American Steel, Fake Problems, Sundowner
KNITTING FACTORY MAIN | St. Vincent, His Name is Alive, Bowerbirds, Papercuts, Le Loup, Speck Mountain
BLENDER THEATRE | Datarock, Death of Fashion, The Epochs
SOUNDFIX RECORDS | Ludlow Lions, El May, Scissors for Lefty, The Forms, Apes
TERMINAL 5 | M.I.A.
CLUB ELEMENT | Krs-One
HIRO BALLROOM | Shout Out Out Out, Foreign Islands
ARLENES GROCERY | The Affair, Palomar, Get Him Eat Him, Hallelujah The Hills

FRIDAY OCTOBER 19
HIGHLINE | Coheed & Cambria
SOUTHPAW | The Dirtbombs, The Intelligence, Turbo Fruits
UNION POOL | O'Death, Takka Takka, The Black Hollies, Chris Mills
WEBSTER HALL | Ghostland Observatory
KNITTING FACTORY | Aids Wolf, Ruins, Old Time Relijun, Japanther, Sightings
LUNA LOOUNGE | The Warlocks, Earthless, Blackstrap, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Ancestors
FILLMORE NY | Noisettes, Earl Greyhound, Santogold
GALAPAGOS | The Vandelles, A Place to Bury Strangers, Jay Reatard, Shock Cinema, Miss Alex White, Cadence Weapon, Foreign Born, Holy Hail, Fatal Flyin' Guillotines, Picastro, Blackstrap, The Muggabears, Cale Parks, Le Loup, The Deadly Syndrome, The Coast, Chairlift, Foals, Spirit Marines
CLUB MIDWAY | Hull, Illinois, The Jealous Girlfriends, Jack, Bonk, The Hot Springs
BOWERY BALLROOM | The Spinto Band, Sons and Daughters, The Maccabees, Alberta Cross, Sahara Hotnights, The 1900's, Drug Rug
MICHELINES | Oppenheimer, Le Rug, Ollie Byrd
MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG | EL-P, Mr. Dibbs, Yak Ballz, Hangar 18, Activator, Despot, Junk Science, Cool Calm Pete
PETES CANDY STORE | The Black Swans, Lee Bob Watson, Aaron Ross, Mariee Sioux
SILENT BARN | Excepter, Yellow Swans, Mouthus, John Weise, Carlos Giffoni
SOUNDFIX RECORDS | The Finches, Georgie James, The Brunettes, Craig Wedren (ex-Shudder to Think), Orba Squara
STUDIO B | MSTRKRFT, Z-Trip, Troublemaker, Lazaro Casanova
TERMINAL 5 | M.I.A.
THE DELANCEY | Bound Stems, The Narrator, Cale Parks, Mannequin Men, Picastro, Bling Kong
TRASH | La Laque, The Shapes, Demetra, Mason Proper, Modico
CRASH MANSION | MGMT, Foreign Islands, Wild Light
THE ANNEX | After the Jump and Indie Outlaw present: The Antlers, Nous Non Plus, The Silent Years, The Pendletons, Cary Ann Hears, Dead Confederate, Morning State

SATURDAY OCTOBER 20
HIGHLINE | Little Brother, Brother Ali, Evidence (of Dilated Peoples)
ROSELAND | Spoon, The Ponys
TERMINAL 5 | Justice, Midnight Juggernauts
SOUTHPAW | Kevin Devine, Owen, Andy Hull
UNION HALL | The Mugs, Beat Radio, Aeroplane Pageant, Princeton
UNION POOL | DeadString Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, The Silos
BOWERY | Band of Horses, Le Loup, The Brunettes
KNITTING FACTORY | Saves the Day (acoustic), The New Amsterdams, The Color Fred (Fred Mascherino of Taking Back Sunday)
CLUB MIDWAY | The Flesh, Goes Cube, The Forms, Mussels, Four Fifty One
COOPER PARK | The So So Glos, Animandible, Fiasco, Lidia Stone, Fifty on Their Heels, Ava Luna, Brightside (ex-Aqui), Abstract Artimus
DEATH BY AUDIO | AIDS Wolf, Sightings, Ruins, Health, Yip Yip, Made in Mexico, Shellshag
GALAPAGOS | Andy Rourke (ex_The Smiths), Le Loup, Get Him Eat Him, Essie Jain, TK Webb, SLARAFFENLAND, Paul Duncan, Stars Like Fleas
THE DELANCEY | The Vandelles, El Jezel, Up the Empire, A Place to Bury Strangers, Man in Gray, Mancino, Gold Streets, Secret Life of Sofia, Chop Shop
LIT | Elk City, Camphor, Magnolia Summer, Jumbling Towers, Finns Motel
MAGNETIC FIELDS | The Ettes, Muck & The Mires, Hard Feelings
MERCURY LOUNGE | Tigercity, The Harlem Shakes, Professor Murder, Georgie James, Dragons of Zynth, Baby Dayliner, New Violators
MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG | Matt & Kim, Flosstradamus, The Hood Internet Project, Art Goblins
SOUNDFIX | Imperial Teen, The Rosebuds, The Broken West
THE YARD | After the Jump's Mini Fall Fest: White Magic, O'death, Old Time Relijun, Eagle Seagull, The Lisps, Balthrop Alabama, Two Man Gentlemen Band

We're feeling super sentimental and romantic hear the Product Shop NYC headquarters. So much love is in the air that we just had to share our joy with you. This playlist for this weeks Sirius Blog Radio kind of reflects that mood.

We held a contest asking people to guess the actual theme of the show and two folks out of about 300+ responses got it right. We've sent them nice little gifts. If you were listening to Sirius Left of Center, then you could have entered. The playlist is after the jump.........

As we told you yesterday, Bloc Party are putting out a new song called "Flux," which they debuted at the WAMU Theater at Madison Square Garden. The clip is now online and posted above.....

Arcade Fire will be taking part in Australia and New Zealand's 2008 Big Day Out Traveling Festival. Also on the bill are Rage Against the Machine, Bjork, Grinspoon, Arcade Fire, Hilltop Hoods, Billy Bragg, Paul Kelly, Sarah Blasko, Faker, Midnight Juggernauts, Dizzee Rascal, Something With Numbers, Battles, Cut Off Your Hands and LCD Soundsystem, whom Arcade Fire will be playing with tomorrow at Randall's Island in New York City.

Here's the set times:

9:15pm---Arcade Fire
7:55pm---LCD Soundsystem
6:50pm---Blonde Redhead
5:50pm---Les Savy Fav
5:00pm---Wild Light
3:30pm---Doors Open
2:00pm---On-Site Box Office Opens

Mass transit is the quickest and easiest way to the island. Take the 4,5 or 6 train to 125th Street and transfer upstairs to the X80 Express Bus. From Queens and Long Island, take the 7 train or the LIRR train to 61st St. and Woodside and transfer to the X81 Express Bus. Round-trip fare is $5.00 and payable upon boarding by a standard metrocard

After teasing fans to be at their bonlineb.com created website on October 6th for a big surprise, the Arcade Fire have updated the site to premiere their new interactive music video for "Neon Bible." While the video and its features are neat, it's not exactly the surprise I was hoping for. Check out the video here........

It was a show that very easily could have turned into a disaster. What the estimated crowd of 22,000 (more than a sold out Madison Square Garden!) got was an absolutely beautiful day and an absolutely amazing show.

Blonde Redhead, who were the first band I watched play a full set, were excellent as always. The distorted nature of their music didn't play as well in the open field, with the swirling sonic waves getting lost in the vast field. Still, they played as the sun went down and as the skyline fell, they became more aggressive and more passionate. Yes, Blonde Redhead is an excellent soundtrack for a dirty dark noir film.

LCD Soundsystem's show at Studio B has been battling out in my mind as the number one show of the year with Daft Punk's Keyspan Park show, so my expectations were very high. Thankfully, so was the energy. While the LCD kids may not be on the same level of recognition with Arcade Fire, and didn't get the initial reaction that Arcade later would, they, much like their music, slowly built up and by the end of their hour long set, had the crowd going absolutely fucking mental. Everyone seemed to be dancing like monkey! I wish they had more time and maybe would have busted out "Daft Punk Is Playing My House" or "Losing My Edge," possibly their two biggest hits, but it didn't even phase me.

The fact that LCD was so fucking amazing and had already made the $40 ticket well worth the money, I was worried how Arcade Fire would fare. I mean, LCD ripped the joint up. Was this going to be a case of the Smashing Pumpkins going on after the Beastie Boys at the 1995 Lollapalooza at Randall's Island. In terms of record sales and popularity, the Pumpkins were the obvious headliners, but the hometown boys owned the crowd and knocked the wind out of everyone. By the time Beastie had finished, the energy and momentum could not be regained and the Pumpkins put on a horrible show.

Thankfully, that was not the case. Arcade Fire delivered a killer show that provided four great song surprises. The fact that they busted out "I'm Sleeping in a Submire" and "Headlights Look Like Diamonds," both from their debut ep, was fantastic! That they played "Cold Wind," from the Six Feet Under soundtrack, was wonderful. That ten minutes after the show ended and the venue lights and exit music was playing, the band emerged stage left, near their trailers, to play a cover of the Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off" was just fucking ridiculously awesome! I couldn't hear them, I could barely see them, but it was fucking so great.

The thing about Arcade Fire is that every time they start a song, this little voice pops into the back of your head that goes, "Oh! I love this song!" Every song! Every time. It's like you're always a bit surprised that you like the next one as much as the previous one. They could literally play any song from their catalog and I would probably have the same reaction.

The Randall's Island crowd gave so much love back to the band. Tons of love. Big love. Big singing. Big dancing. Big everything. The show was just massive. In a crowd of 20,000-plus people and to not encouter a single dickhead or shirtless jock or non-stop talking or texting douchebag is a miracle. Very few bands could produce a crowd like the one we got at a show this big, but this show did. Arcade Fire delivered another bullseye..........

(A special thanks to Music Snobbery for the pictures and the enthuastic high five after the show!)

ARCADE FIRE | RANDALL'S ISLAND | 10-6-2007
Black Mirror / Keep the Car Running / Neighborhood #2 Laika / No Cars Go / Haiti / I'm Sleeping in a Submarine / My Body is a Cage / Cold Wind / Intervention / Antichrist Television Blues / The Well and The Lighthouse / Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) / Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) / Rebellion (Lies) // Headlights Look Like Diamonds // Wake Up /// Kiss Off

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM | RANDALLS ISLAND | 10-6-2007
Get Innocuous / Us vs. Them / Time to Get Away / North American Scum / All My Friends / Tribulations / Movement / Someone Great / Yeah / New York I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down

Even if Amazon UK has it listed and Geffen confirmed the date, I won't believe it until I see it in stores. They should drop the album online like In Rainbows. I'd pay $10 to hear the finished record right now......

I really wanted to see Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings at the Apollo Theatre on Saturday night, but was at another show instead. I think 100 Days, 100 Nights is fantastic and would have loved to seen those songs performed live.

I heard the show was fun, especially for this guy:

By chance, I managed to get front row seats to her show. And when Ms Jones came on stage I immediately jumped up and started dancing, along with much of the crowd in the Apollo that night. Sharon is a tiny lady, but she commanded the stage as soon as she sauntered out. A consummate entertainer, she belted, danced, and worked the crowd like an old pro. I was mesmerized.

During a particularly funky number, Sharon walked over to my side of the stage and invited me up. I started doing my popping and locking thing, which wowed both her and the crowd, apparently. Because a couple of songs later, she called me up on stage to dance again!

(Photo by Arambulo)

This should be an amazing evening:

On Monday, October 8, host Ira Glass brings his new book, The New Kings of Nonfiction, to The Town Hall in New York City. The book is an anthology of nonfiction writing, edited by Ira, and several "kings" will be joining him onstage—including Malcolm Gladwell (Blink; The Tipping Point), Susan Orlean (The New Yorker; The Orchid Thief), and Chuck Klosterman (Fargo Rock City; Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs).

All proceeds from the evening benefit the literacy group 826 Chicago and its free writing programs for students.

Tickets for "An Evening with Ira Glass & the New Kings of Non Fiction" are $30 and now on sale.........

The New York Times Sunday Magazine did a gigantic cover story on Todd Haynes' much hyped Dylan bio-pic, I'm No There. The movie, which sees Dylan portrayed by Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw; Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett, is getting so much advance press, that one must wonder, does this film has any chance of living up to the hype?

...the ’70s superstar Dylan, a kind of jerk Dylan, played by Heath Ledger...

The final Dylan to be filmed, the one dressed like Arthur Rimbaud, the Dylan that Haynes named Arthur, a teenage French symbolist poet, played by Ben Whishaw.

Richard Gere, who plays the Dylan of later years, a Billy the Kid Dylan who ran away to some other place, another time...

Marcus Carl Franklin, the African-American 13-year-old, will play Woody, Haynes’s version of the young Dylan, a kind of teenage hobo as Woody Guthrie...

Christian Bale will play Jack Rollins, Haynes’s folk Dylan, the truth-singing protest singer, who transforms into Pastor John, an evangelical preacher.

Cate Blanchett, playing Jude Quinn, will try to capture the 1966 suddenly rock-star Dylan who was Judas to his folk-loving fans.

Still interested? Will you see I'm Not There when it's released? Rental? Read the New York Times Magazine article here......

Dragons of Zynth play the Mercury Lounge tomorrow. For as long as this band has be taking trips (drug-induced?) into outer space, their album just came out two weeks ago. Maybe it is time for a refresher. Qui is also playing the show.

If you want to go, send an email with your name and DRAGONS OF ZYNTH CONTEST in the subject line to productshopnyc (at) gmail (dot) com. We will pick a winner at random at the end of the day.

DOWNLOAD:
Dragons of Zynth - Get Off (MP3)
Dragons of Zynth - Anna Mae (MP3)

Poor Morrissey. First he cancelled his massive MSG show due to "illness," aka less than 7,000 tickets sold. And now he's having trouble selling out his five-night run at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Promoter Live Nation have been forced to drasticly reduce the $60 ticket price first to $45 and now to a much more reasonable $20 for his October 23rd performance, with discount tickets for the other dates likely to follow.

Buy the $20 Moz tickets here starting on Tuesday.......

In the wake of Radiohead going it alone (initially) for In Rainbows, it seems that a couple other top selling acts will also be shunning the hand that feeds for the foreseeable future. While Jamiroquai and Oasis have not announced any formal plans, it has been revealed that Oasis will release their next single as a download only.

Both Oasis and Jamioquai are currently without a record and have openly said that they are considering self-releasing their next studio album.

The Charlatans are also offering fans their next album completely for free if they visit the site of radio station XFM. Rumors are the Nine Inch Nails will start releasing new music through his The Spiral Fan Club site. Here's what Trent told his fans:

Hello everyone. I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate.Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008. Exciting times, indeed.

When BMI President Thomas Middlehoff bought Napster in an attempt to control the spread of music online, his associates at other labels shunned him for doing business with the enemy. Thomas spent millions on Napster expecting all the other labels to agree to come on board and when they didn't, Middlehoff was fired.

That's about as close as any major label has come to embracing the future of music...until now.

With one of EMI's former superstars Radiohead going it alone with In Rainbows, the new owner of the record label, Guy Hands of the Terra Firma private equity group, sent out a confidential e-mail to his staff that said:

[In Rainbows is] a wake-up call which we should all welcome and respond to with creativity and energy....The recorded music industry has for too long been dependent on how many CDs can be sold, rather than embracing digitalisation and the opportunities it brings for promotion of product and distribution through multiple channels, the industry has stuck its head in the sand.

Let's see if they put their words into action...or just more lawsuits against single mothers......

New York Senator Hillary Clinton is throwing herself a gigantic 60th birthday / Presidential fundraiser at the Beacon Theatre on October 25th. We've learned that Elvis Costello is the first act confirmed to take part in this shindig. Expect many more big names to be added.......

Dozens of Biggie look-a-likes and wanna-bes showed up at New York’s Meatpacking District yesterday to audition for the role of Notorious B.I.G in the rapper’s upcoming biopic.

Fox Searchlight Pictures, who will produce the untitled Biggie movie, launched an open casting call in August to find a lead for the film.

Tomorrow morning (UK Time), Radiohead will release the 160KBPS DRM-Free digital download of their seventh LP, In Rainbows. While we'd be anxiously awaiting the release regardless of how they put out the album, the revolutionary format has stirred us into a fit of excitement. How much did you pay? Did you get the discbox? Do you care that its 160KBPS and not 320KBPS?

The next question one should ask, especially bands and industry folks, is how will the "pay what you want" method hold up after the record enters the public domain? If word of mouth is good or bad, will people still head over to www.inrainbows.com to pay money for the album? How many people paid for the album pre-release vs post release? Will a tour/promotion help continue to sell the album?

Radiohead opened the door, now its their challenge to make sure this medium works......

At 1:36am Eastern Standard time, Radiohead's In Rainbow was delivered to our mailbox! This is probably the first time in eight years that an album hasn't leaked before its on sale date.

Initial reaction? It's fucking mega! The first thing you notice is that Thom's voice hasn't been so audible on a Radiohead album since OK Computer. His voice is one of Radiohead's best instruments and it glides over all ten tracks with such beautiful ease. The music is fantastic and tight, so much fuller sounding than some of the tracks sounded when they road-tested the material in 2006.

As of now, I'd give the album an "A" or A-".

What do you think of it........

DOWNLOAD: Radiohead - "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"

The nominations have been announced for the 2007 National Book Awards. Surprisingly, JK Rowling was not nominated in the Young People's Literature catagory. I've got all my money on Denis Johnson's mighty Tree of Smoke.......

Fiction
Mischa Berlinski, Fieldwork (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Lydia Davis, Varieties of Disturbance (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Joshua Ferris, Then We Came to the End (Little, Brown & Company)
Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Jim Shepard, Like You'd Understand, Anyway (Alfred A. Knopf)

Nonfiction
Edwidge Danticat, Brother, I'm Dying (Alfred A. Knopf)
Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (Twelve/Hachette Book Group USA)
Woody Holton, Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution (Hill and Wang/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Arnold Rampersad, Ralph Ellison: A Biography (Alfred A. Knopf)
Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (Doubleday)

Poetry
Linda Gregerson, Magnetic North (Houghton Mifflin Company)
Robert Hass, Time and Materials (Ecco/HarperCollins)
David Kirby, The House on Boulevard St. (Louisiana State University Press)
Stanley Plumly, Old Heart (W.W. Norton & Company)
Ellen Bryant Voigt, Messenger: New and Selected Poems 1976-2006 (W.W. Norton & Company)

Young People's Literature
Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown & Company)
Kathleen Duey, Skin Hunger: A Resurrection of Magic, Book One (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
M. Sindy Felin, Touching Snow (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic Press)
Sara Zarr, Story of a Girl (Little, Brown & Company)

Nowhere near as sexed up as the Stories preview show at the Knitting Factory, nor as angry as the Uh Huh Her preview show at the Knitting, but the White Chalk performance at the Beacon Theatre was near-majestic........

PJ HARVEY | BEACON THEATRE | 10-10-2007
To Bring You My Love / Send His Love To Me / When Under Ether / The Devil / White Chalk / Man-Size / Angelene / My Beautiful Leah / Nina / Electric Light / Shame / Snake / Big Exit / Down By The Water / Grow, Grow, Grow / The Mountain / Silence // Rid of Me // Water // The Piano // The Desperate Kingdom of Love

(Photos by sokane1 and nd10011)

Some people did not enjoy RadioheaDay as much as others.....

Lady Madge is the latest superstar to announce an untraditional new record. This all-inclusive deal, that includes music, merch and tour support, is how I suspect the future of the industry will be laid out..........

Madonna has inked an unprecedented $120 million deal with California concert promoter Live Nation in which she would abandon Warner Music Group in favor of life without a traditional record contract, sources said.

Live Nation will pay $17.5 million up-front plus $50 million for three albums produced by Madonna.

The concert-promotion company will then hand over $50 million in cash and stock for the right to promote her concert tours and merchandise, sources said.

The contract does not require that the 49-year-old star go on tour to promote her albums.

The rich price is also a big risk for Live Nation, which will have to sell at least 15 million copies of each of the three new Madonna albums in order to recoup its investment on that piece of the deal, sources said

Read the full article here....

I so wish he'd run for President.....

Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change jointly won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for fighting it.

It's being reported that Radiohead's "In Rainbows" was downloaded 1,200,000 times since its release on October 10th.

Standard superstar record contracts give bands just above or below $2 per album sold (from an average list price of $18.99). Radiohead's last album, "Hail to the Thief," sold roughly 700,000 copies in America. That means radiohead made about $1,400,000 from the U.S. sales of "Hail to the Thief."

If no one bought the discbox of "In Rainbows" at $70 a pop and no one paid anything other than the mandatory $1 service fee for the download only, then Radiohead still made roughly $1,200,000 from their new album in just three days............

Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan is all set to release his second solo album, Hour Glass, which he'll be promoting with a special live performance from the Apple Store in Soho, located at 103 Prince Street in New York on Tuesday, October 23rd at 8 PM. Fans will be admitted on a first come, first served basis so get there early to guarantee your admission. This show will be recorded and sold exclusively at iTunes at a later date.

Who saw Depeche Mode's last tour when it hit Madison Square Garden? Did it turn you into a thirteen year-old girl at a Justin Timberlake concert? How fucking hot was Dave Gahan? I love artists that can be two decades into their career and still look and sound amazing. I wonder who will last that long from the 90s or 00s...............

DOWNLOAD: Dave Gahan - "Kingdom (Digitalism Remix)"
DOWNLOAD: Kylie Minogue - "2 Hearts"

Now that Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem have completed their joint tour dates and all the copies of their split single are complete sold out, I figure its a good time to share the tracks.

On one side, Arcade Fire recorded Sergio Gainsbourg's "Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son," which they've been playing live throughout the Neon Bible tour. On the other LCD Soundsystem covers Joy Division's "No Love Lost."...........

DOWNLOAD: Arcade Fire - "Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son"
DOWNLOAD: LCD Soundsystem - "No Love Lost

On Saturday, November 3rd, the B.A.M. opera house is opening its doors to a very interesting night of mayhem. "Take Over BAM" will feature live performance on the opera stage from Be Your Own PET, Dirty on Purpose, The Heartless Bastards, The Exit, and Antibalas. While the bands play, four films will be shown in the cinema and the Mighty Robots crew will be throwing down a dance party in the BAM café. All this for the price of one. Tickets are $15 and available here......

The White Stripes may not be touring, but they're still finding ways to sell their Icky Thump. They just sent out a mysterious email blast with the subject "?" that reads "The tricks of today are the truths of tomorrow." - Man Ray X XV MMVII.

Some may remember that their website has a ? Section, which reveals that the White Stripes will be selling two special edition camera sets with lens and other goodies. You can use the camera to take sexy naked pictures of people who look exactly like Meg in very compromising positions.

Jack's camera is a q, which is an inexpensive, medium format 120 film toy camera, originating in China, that later came to be appreciated for its low-fidelity aesthetic. The Holga's cheap construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions. Ironically, the camera's quality problems became a virtue among some photographers, with Holga photos winning awards and competitions in art and news photography.

Meg's Diana+ is a simple, low-quality plastic-bodied box camera. The Diana takes sixteen 4 cm x 4 cm pictures on 120 film, leaving a large part of the film surface unused. Though often referred to as a toy camera, the term is somewhat misleading, as the Diana is fully capable of taking actual photographs.

This also makes The Fillmore concert poster that much coolor (see the poster after the jump).........

Since we've been obsessively following the E Street Band's tour setlists, we were totally stunned to see the premiere of "Tougher Than The Rest," one of my absolute favorite songs of all time.

As if that wasn't enough, the Arcade Fire joined Bruce and company at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa during "State Trooper" and an amazing runthrough of "Keep the Car Running"!!!!!!!

Unbelievable! They should do a joint tour............

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | SCOTIABANK PLACE | OTTAWA, ON | 10-14-2007
Radio Nowhere / The Ties That Bind / Lonesome Day / Gypsy Biker / Magic / Reason to Believe / Adam Raised a Cain / She's the One / Livin' in the Future / The Promised Land / Tougher Than the Rest / Backstreets / Darlington County / Devil's Arcade / The Rising / Last to Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands // Girls in Their Summer Clothes // State Trooper // Keep the Car Running // Born to Run // Dancing in the Dark // American Land

I can't remember a CMJ Music Marathon with so little buzz in a long time. It seems that every person I talk to that usually gets all psyched for their annual marathon or sxsw or coachella, just doesn't care / is disappointed by the line-up / hasn't heard much hype / won't be attending this year's CMJ Music Marathon.

Team PSNYC will be out in full force throughout the week. We're really hoping to be surprised by an act we've never seen or heard of, but if not, we're still certain that we'll see some cool shows. Here's a list of our recommendations:

BEST OFFICIAL SHOW TUESDAY: Serious Business Showcase at Pianos w/ Sam Champion, The Octagon, Rocketship Park, Benji Cossa, LOOKER, etc.
BEST OFFICIAL SHOW WEDNESDAY: (tie)After The Jump Fest at Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ A Place To Bury Strangers, Foals, Alberta Cross, Yeasayer, Cadence Weapon, etc
(tie) Bowery Ballroom w/ Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, No Age, White Williams, Ponytail
BEST OFFICIAL SHOW THURSDAY: (tie)The Annex w/ Mates of State, Black Kids, We Are Wolves, Jack Penate
(tie)Modular Showcase at Studio B w/ New York Pony Club, Muscles, Simian Mobile Disco
BEST OFFICIAL SHOW FRIDAY: (tie) The Fillmore w/ The Noisettes, Spank Rock, Yo Majesty, Earl Greyhound, Santagold, The Apes
(tie) Midway w/ Illinois, The Panda Band, Boink, Hull, The Jealous Girlfriends, Jack, Hot Springs
(tie)Mercury Lounge w/ White Denim, The Walkmen, The Broken West, The Dead Trees, iLIKETRAINS, The Shaky Hands, Bon Savants
BEST OFFICIAL SHOW SATURDAY: Fleet Team showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Matt & Kim, Flosstradamus, The Hood Internet, and the Art Goblins (AKA Art Brut)
BEST VENUE TO CATCH SURPRISE SETS: Cake Shop (Wednesday at 4 and Friday at 6...that's all I can say)
BEST FREE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DAY SHOW: October 17th @ Pianos, Brooklyn Vegan presents Celebration, Meat Puppets, Joan As Policewoman, The Deathset, etc
BEST LATE NIGHT INVITE PARTY: Blender Theatre w/ Spoon, 1990s, Air Traffic - Show begins at 1:30am
BEST ORGANIZATION THROWING FIVE DAYS OF FREE PARTIES AT THE SAME VENUE WITH EVERY CMJ BUZZ BAND IS PLAYING: (tie)Gothamist House at White Rabbit (145 Houston Street) w/ The Big Sleep, iLIKETRAINS, Cut Off Your Hands, Bound Stems, The Spinto Band, etc
(tie)KEXP Live Broadcasts from the Gibson Showroom Midtown w/ The Hold Steady, The Maccabees, Band of Horses, Simian Mobile Disco, Pela, Sons and Daughters, Le Loup, etc.

"Keep The Car Running"

"State Troopers"

How record labels view the future of music:

Universal Music Group is hoping to team with other record companies to launch a new industry-owned subscription services called Total Music. The label is in talks with Sony BMG and Warner Music Group as potential partners. If the service is launched, the three would control almost 75% of the music sold in the U.S. MP3 manufactures and/or cell phone carriers would absorb the cost of the estimated $5.00 a month fee that would give consumers "all-you-can-eat" music. Music companies would collect the subscription fee while hardware manufactures would sell more MP3 players

But would that $5 mean I can download, rip and keep DRM Free high quality mp3's?

Moz just ain't bringing crowds out in New York City like he used to. His one-night-only Madison Square Garden turned five-night Hammerstein Ballroom residency is still having problems selling tickets. The price has gone from $65 to $45 to $32 to $22 and now to $20 (going on sale this Tuesday at 9am).

Besides being spectacularly unfair to the diehard Morrissey fans who rushed out to get tickets, this makes you wonder why they don't just cancel two of the five gigs and honor the tickets on the other nights.........

Never could we have imagined that Product Shop NYC would be listed alongside the Drudge Report on any sort of list, especially something as respectable as PC Magazine's "Our 100 Favorite Blogs" list.

We're totally humbled and totally surprised. Thank you PC Magazine!

Among the hundred blogs listed were Brooklyn Vegan, Daily Kos, Defamer, DListed, Gawker, Go Fug Yourself, Gothamist, Huffington Post, Post Secret, Stereogum, Wonkette and You Ain't No Picasso. Yep, only four music sites were listed......

Here's what's going on today. Add what you want in the comments.......

THE BIG SHOWCASES
PIANOS | Serious Business Records w/ Stylophone, Sam Champion, The Octagon, Looker, Unsacred Hearts, Two Man Gentleman Band, Rocketship Park, Benji Cossa
BOWERY BALLROOM | Brooklyn Vegan w/ Voxtrot, The Rosebuds, Dean & Britts, The Most Serene Republic, Miracle Fortress, Bon Iver
WEBSTER HALL | Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Modern Life Is War

THE SMALLER BIG SHOWS
UNION POOL | Celebration, Dragons of Zynth, Tall Firs, Effi Briest
SILENT BARN | Dan Deacon, Deathset, Team Robespierre, Juiceboxxx, DD/MM/YYYY
GALAPAGOS | Cheeseburger, Via Audio, Tacks, the Boy Disaster, White Denim, Juiceboxxx
UNION HALL | The Elephants, My Teenage Stride

SINGLE SLOTS
THE TANK | Higgins (11pm)
CRASH MANSION | Oppenheimer (10pm)
BLENDER THEATRE | Q-Tip (10:30pm)
ARLENE'S GROCERY | Teenage Prayers (7:45pm)
HAMMERSTEIN | Regina Spektor (7pm)

FREE PARTIES NIGHT
THE ANNEX | Club NME w/ Sam Champion, Tiny Masters of Today, The Little Ones
HIRO BALLROOM | James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Annie Mac

FREE PARTIES DAY
INDABA MUSIC LOFT (268 Bowery, 3rd floor) | Krystle Warren, Quintis, Arizona, Cut Off Your Hands!, Some Velvet Morning, Matt Singer
SOUNDFIX RECORDS | Stembo, Le Loup

Last night at the Bowery Ballroom, an invitation only memorial service was held for Hilly Kristal. I wasn't going to write about it, and I obviously didn't post about it, but I was thinking about how much love and respect people in the New York music community have for this man and it really amazes me.

Hilly is most fondly remembered by members of the late seventies and early eighties downtown scene. History may have made his club, CBGB's, the epicenter of New York Punk, but it certainly wasn't the only venue that bands like Television and Patti Smith could play. Granted, they didn't have nearly as many options as bands have today, but they did still have a couple different places.

WIth Hilly, the way people so fondly remember him, it seems to be about so much more than him as a club owner or booker. They not only respect him and care for him, but truly seem to value his friendship and his taste.

Today's music scene seems to lack any sort of Hilly Kristal figure. The closest I can think of as someone who nutures bands and invites them to be part of their "thing" is Todd P or Johnny Beach, and while I highly respect those two gentlemen, I don't think they're near the level or Hilly Kristal.

I don't know where I'm going with this little rant. I think what I'm trying to say is that New York City really needs more folks like Hilly Kristal..........

Yep, Team PSNYC ended up at Madison Square Garden this Sunday for the CFA-Iams Cat Championship: Cat Show and it was pretty fucking surreal. I've never seen so many people wearing clothing with pictures of cats or various other animals on it. We kept laughing that Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords would have fit in perfectly here with his collection of animal sweaters. Anyway, the people were weird, the fashion was weirder and some of these cats were just the weirdest. The hairless! The gigantic fluffernutters! The trained cats on leashes!

And yeah, we saw a gazillion kitties that were absolutely adorable. These cats would have turned anyone into a big ol' pile of mush. Seriously, if you don't have a cat in your house, you should seriously consider it. They're low maintanence and great company. I highly recommend that you consider adopting a kitty from one of these fine places:
::BARC Shelter
::North Shore Animal League
::ASPCA
::City Critters
::Animal Haven

On a related not, this weekend I saw the movie "Year of the Dog." The film was written and directed by Mike White, who previously wrote "School of Rock," "The Good Girl," and "Nacho Libre," as well as a couple episodes of "Freaks & Geeks." The movie stars Molly Shannon and was sold as a romantic comedy about a dog lover looking for her soulmate.

It turns out that "Year of the Dog" is about a woman (Molly Shannon) whose dog dies and then loses her fucking mind and becomes a psychotic PETA activist. She tries to brainwash a toddler, kill a guy who she went on a date with so "he can know what it feels like to be hunted" and she steals money from the company she works for and donates it to crazy animal-right organizations. The film tries to portray all her acts as just and acceptable and rational. It tries to paint everyone else as crazy.

Seriously, this is the worst movie ever fucking made. It made me run out and buy leather shoes, a fur coat, a rare steak and made me throw paint on a group of hippie vegans. Never see this movie. Never...........

The "Bowie by Keanen Duffty" clothing line is now exclusively available at Target. Yes, the Thin White Duke can now be found in the red dot special aisle. I wonder if the coked-up-Seventies Bowie would stick a spoon in the eye of the Noughts' Bowie.

The earthling's episode of "Spongebob Squarepants" will air on November 11th, the week after an episode features the voice of fellow Seventies rock icon Gene Simmons. You know, some of the Bowie clothes is kind of fetching....

Insound and CMJ have posted "Let's Get Digital 3," an excellent free digital download of numerous acts who are appearing at the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon. You can grab the download by clicking here.........

INSOUND & CMJ PRESENTS LET'S GET DIGITAL 3 TRACKLISTING
Jesu "You Wear Their Masks"
HEALTH "Triceratops"
British Sea Power "Atom"
Eagle Seagull "I'm Sorry but I'm Beginning to Hate Your Face"
Les Breastfeeders "Viens avec moi"
Crystal Castles "Crystal Castles vs. HEALTH - Crimewave"
Georgie James "Need Your Needs"
Bald Eagle "Jammin' the Wedge (exclusive edit)"
The Teeth "The Coolest Kid in School"
Hallelujah the Hills "Effie's on the Other Side"
The Octopus Project "I saw the Bright Shinies"
Marla Hansen "Shuffle Your Feet"
We Are Wolves "Fight & Kiss"
Mannequin Men "Boys (They Don't Mind)"
Tiny Masters of Today "Hologram World"

Rumors have been flying that Justice will be the "Secret Surprise Headliner" at the Blender Theatre on Friday, October 19th. They will not be:

We're very excited to announce Counting Crows will be taking part in CMJ's music marathon in New York City THIS FRIDAY! That's right, mark your calendars for October 19th for The Blender Theater at Gramercy. Check back with countingcrows.com tomorrow and we'll announce where and how you can get your tickets! See you in the Big Apple!

The Hype Machine has finally launched its updated website. Any thoughts........

Last night, Sam Champion kicked off the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon by playing two official shows and one impromptu show. Between an early show at Club NME at The Annex and a late show at the Serious Business Showcase at Pianos, the four members of Sam Champion strapped on acoustic guitars and headed to the corner of Rivington and Ludlow for a three song acoustic set. They were able to get off two and half songs before the cops shut them down........

SAM CHAMPION'S CMJ SCHEDULE
Oct 17 7:00P Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York
Oct 18 6:45P Gothamist House @ White Rabbit New York, New York
Oct 20 8:00P Orchard Bar New York, New York

Serious Business Records took over Pianos for their annual showcase. This year, the collective was stronger than ever and put on a great party to a packed room. And by collective I mean, so many of the musicians play in multiple bands who performed. For instance, members of Benji Cossa's backing band play in Rocketship Park. Rocketship were joined by The National's Bryan Devendorf, who played tamborine throughout their set. The Two Man Gentleman band were joined by the drummer of Unsacred Hearts. And this goes on and on...........

DOWNLOAD: Rocketship Park - "Run Away"

DOWNLOAD: Benji Cossa - "Sunset"

DOWNLOAD: Looker - "After My Divorce"

DOWNLOAD: The Two Man Gentleman Band - "Shotgun Wedding"

Tiny Masters of Today played a messy set at Club NME at The Annex. I didn't think it was so bad, but I did hear someone say, "Kriss Kross is way better than this shit."...........

DOWNLOAD: Tiny Masters of Today - "Hologram (featuring Karen O)"

TINY MASTERS OF TODAY CMJ SCHEDULE
Oct 18 8:00P World’s Fair CMJ Showcase @ Bowery Ballroom, w/ British Sea Power, Pela, 1990s
Oct 20 12:30P Show Brooklyn Vegan CMJ @Pianos (FREE)

Here's what's going on today. I highly recommend running around like a lunatic on the Lower East Side during the day and then spending your evening at the After The Jump Fest at the Music Hall of Williamsburg........

BIG SHOWCASES
MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG | After The Jump Fest w/ A Place To Bury Strangers + Foals + Cadence Weapon + Sam Champion + Yeasayer + Alberta Cross
BOWERY BALLROOM | Deerhunter + Dan Deacon + No Age + White Williams + Ponytail
AVALON | Just Jinger, The Walkmen, Tif McMillin, Mates of State, White Denim, Special Guest, The Felice Brothers, Grindcity

THE SMALLER BIG SHOWS
GALAPAGOS | Insound Party w/ Holy Fuck, Cadence Weapon, Videohippos, New Violators, Oh No! Oh My!, Turbo Fruits, Bald Eagle, Titus Andronicus
UNION HALL | The Rosebuds + Gabby Glaser + The Ladybug Transistor + The Hot IQs
KNITTING FACTORY DOWNSTAIRS | Mint Records Night w/ Kate Steele of Little Birdy + The Awkward Stage + Bella + Carolyn Mark
KNITTING FACTORY TAP BAR | We Are Wolves, Ida Maria, Monomen, Team Robespierre, Golden City
MATCHLESS | Goes Cube, Man in Grey, Kickstart, Unsacred Hearts
STUDIO B | Big Stereo w/ Thunderheist, Dandi WInd, Purple Crush, The Glamous

SINGLE SLOTS
CRASH MANSION | The Giraffes (11pm)
LIT LOUNGE | The Section Quartet (10pm)
MERCURY LOUNGE | The Little Ones (11pm)

FREE PARTIES NIGHT
CAKE SHOP | Birthday Suits, Black Kids
LION'S DEN | Meat Puppets; 1090 Club, The Valley Arena; Charlemagne; Via Audio
THE DELANCEY | Connan and The Mockasins, The Red Romance, The Deadly Syndrome, Black Ghost, Oh No! Oh My!, Foreign Born, Cut Off Your Hands, Le Castle Vania, The Wildbirds, Five O'Clock Heroes, rKid
CANAL ROOM | Christopher Denny; Arizona; Air Traffic; Division Day; Die Romantik; Dragonette

FREE PARTIES DAY
CAKE SHOP | Vampire Weekend, Jack Penate
PIANOS | Brooklyn Vegan Day Party w/ Celebration + The Meat Puppets + The Deathset + Joan as Policewoman + Le Loup + Team Robespierre + Cut Off Your Hands + Bon Iver, Jenny Scheinman, Sparrow House, Christopher Denny, Essie Jain, Luke Temple, Wakey Wakey
(Noon - 6pm)
ARLENES GROCERY | Pirate Pirate Day Party w/ Billy Bragg, Imperial Teen, Bella, Time Fite, Cadence Weapon and Most Serene Republic(Noon - 5pm)
GOTHAMIST HOUSE @ WHITE RABBIT | Reverand Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping + Charles Bissell + The Forms + Aaron Behrens + Peasant + O'Death + Cut Off Your Hands
INDABA MUSIC LOFT (268 Bowery) | 2pm - Division Day; 3pm - Middle Distance Runner; 4pm - Seth Kallen & The Reaction; 5pm - Natalie Prass; 6pm - Beat Radio; 7pm - The Undisputed Heavyweights
APPLE STORE SOHO | Thurston Moore (2pm)
SOUNDFIX RECORDS | Balthrop, Alabama, The Big Sleep, The Muggabears, The Jealous Girlfriends, Elk City, Aeroplane, Pageant, Pre, Fatal Flyin' Guillotines
VILLAGE UNDERGROUND | The 1990s, Wii Tabel Tennis Tournament
OTHER MUSIC | No Age (6pm)
CLUB MIDWAY | The Panda Band, Let's Go Sailing, Hot IQ's, Billy Harvey, Intercooler
FADER SIDESHOW (invite only) | High Places, Adrian Orange, The Deadly Syndrome, Mgmt, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons, Health, The Airborne Toxic Event

Norman Mailer is in the hospital and in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital's intensive care unit.

On Tuesday, the 84 year-old author released his latest book, On God: An Uncommon Conversation..........

This morning, the Turkish parliament overwhelmingly approved a cross-border offensive against the Kurds in northern Iraq.

The Kurdistan region of Iraq is, by all accounts, considering the safest area in all of Iraq. It also happens to be where most of the oil reserves are located. Turkey, which says that they are fighting Kurdish rebels, feels that they are the true owners of the Kurdish region of Iraq and the vast oil fields. They have threatened the Kurdish people for years, saying that if they ever become an independent state, they'd attack them. Now, seems to be that time.

The Kurdistan Workers Party, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization, supports an independent Kurdistan. Since the Iraq War began, Kurdistan has been controlled by the KWP and has been relatively peaceful. Their main fighting has happened along the Turkey border with the Turkish Army.

Welcome to World War IV........

Those Whores of Fashion turned us onto the new face of Louis Vuitton: Mikhail S. Gorbachev. No joke.......

Here's what's going on today..........

BIG SHOWCASES
STUDIO B | Modular Showcase w/ New Young Pony Club; Muscles; Cool Kids; Modular DJs; Simian Mobile Disco After Party
HIGHLINE BALLROOM | ...And you will know Us By The Trail of the Dead, Islands, Yo Majesty, Thunderheist, Enon, Octopus Project
BOWERY BALLROOM | World's Fair Showcase w/ British Sea Power; Pela; 1990s; Tiny Masters of Today; Stardeath & Whitedwarfs; Grey Race
BLENDER THEATRE | Datarock, The Epochs, Benzos, Death of Fashion
TERMINAL 5 | M.I.A.
WEBSTER HALL | Unkle, Holy Fuck, Walter Meego
MUSIC HLL OF WILLIAMSBURG | Simian Mobile Disco, Invisible Conga People

THE SMALLER BIG SHOWS
LUNA LOUNGE | Kemado w/ Blood Ceremony, Audionom, Turzi, Danava, Saviours, Witchcraft
KNITTING FACTORY | St. Vincent, His Name Is Alive, Bowerbirds, papercuts, Le Loup, Speck Mountain
FAT BABY | Uncut, Wintersleep, Cadence Weapon, Hunter Valentine, Winston
UNION HALL | Division Day, The 1900's, Let's Go Sailing
DON HILLS | Nashville Pussy, Nebula, Grady, Les Breastfeeders, The Checks
GALAPAGOS | The Giraffes, Beat The Devil, FIGO, Prairie Cartel
GLASSLANDS | Religious Knives, Home Video, The Warlocks, Holy Fuck, Dominique Keegan, Boom Bip, Black Ghosts, Richard Fearless
THE ANNEX | Mates of State, Jack Penate, Black Kids, We Are Wolves

SINGLE SLOTS
CLUB ELEMENT | KRS-One
CRASH MANSION | Beat The Devil (12am)

FREE PARTIES NIGHT
HIRO | Shout Out Out Out Out, Project Jenny / Project Jan, Foreign Islands
SOUNDFIX RECORDS | Lewis & Clarke, O'Death, Mariee Sioux, The Black Swans
BLENDER THEATRE | Spoon, 1990s, Air Traffic (invite only)

FREE PARTIES DAY
APPLE STORE SOHO | Q-Tip (2pm)
INDABA MUSIC LOFT (268 Bowery) | A Brief Smile, Let's Go Sailing, Tim Williams, Mason Proper, The Jaguar Club, Mancino
GOTHAMIST HOUSE @ WHITE RABBIT | iliketrains, Sam Champion, Dead Confederate, Bad Veins, The Big Sleep, The Teeth, The Jealous Girlfriends, The Muggabears
CAKE SHOP | Force Field PR / De Stijl / Soft Abuse w/ Car Commercials; Quinn Walker; Kind Darves; Gerald Busby; Deer Tick; Giant Skyflower Band; Ed Askew

The Village Voice's annual "Best of NYC" issue hit the red boxes yesterday. This year they've given much-deserved love to Punkcast.com, whom join the ranks of other music sites/stations to get props like NYC-TV's New York Noise (2006), Brooklyn Vegan (2005), Product Shop NYC (2004) and The Modern Age (2003)......

VILLAGE VOICE BEST OF NYC 2007 HIGHLIGHTS
Best Neo-Britpop/Northern Soul Revival/art- Damaged Band Comprising Some Ex-Yalies Who Now Live In Brooklyn: Harlem Shakes
Best documentarian of New York's indie- rock scene: Joly MacFie of punkcast.com
Best radio-interview-show host: Brian Lehrer
Best criminally unknown superstar in our midst: Diamanda Galás
Best (and cutest) East Village radio DJ: Timmy G
Best savior of the printed word: 826NYC
Most completely terrifying stage presence: Dirty Projectors
Best music shop to go digital: Other Music Digital
Best place to fall out of love with a band: Galapagos
Best place to mourn the closing of Tonic, Fez, Sin-é, and other small but important live-music venues: Hi-Fi
Best Brooklyn venue rebuilt to look exactly like a Manhattan venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg

Listen to WNYC's Brian Lehrer talk about Radiohead's "In Rainbows"

Cat Power's forthcoming album, Jukebox, drops on January 22nd via Matador.

On Monday, Cat Power played the 9:30 club with the Child Ballads (ex-Jonathan Fire*Eater). The Child Ballads play a free CMJ show at Mo Pitkins on Thursday, October 18th, at noon.......

CAT POWER'S JUKEBOX TRACKLISTING
1. "Theme From New York, New York" - Kander/Ebb; popularized by Frank Sinatra/Liza Minnelli
2. "Metal Heart" - Cat Power
3. "Ramblin' (Wo)man" - Hank Williams
4. "Song to Bobby" - Cat Power
5. "Aretha, Sing One For Me" - J Harris/Eugene William; originally sung by George Jackson
6. "Lost Someone" - James Brown
7. "I Believe in You" - Bob Dylan
8. "Fortunate Son" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. "Silver Stallion" - Lee Clayton
10. "Dark End of the Street" - Chips Moman/Dan Penn; originally sung by James Carr
11. "Don't Explain" - Billie Holiday
12. "Woman Left Lonely" - Spooner Oldham/Dan Penn, popularized by Janis Joplin

The December cover of Spin will feature Bruce Springsteen and Win Butler. They also sat down for a joint interview with deputy editor Steve Kandell. Win and Regine were invited by Bruce to perform at both New Jersey shows, but the couple couldn't make because of prior commitments in Montreal. As you know they did hook up in Ottawa.

Last night, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of two shows at Madison Square Garden (I don't think they accepted CMJ badges) and it was a pretty stellar night. The Killers and Bono were both in the audience and rumors were flying that they'd join the band on stage either last night (which they didn't) or tonight (which they might).......

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | MADISON SQARE GARDEN | 10-17-2007
Radio Nowhere / The Ties That Bind / Lonesome Day / Gypsy Biker / Magic / Reason to Believe / Adam Raised a Cain / She's the One / Livin' in the Future / The Promised Land / Brilliant Disguise / Backstreets / Darlington County / Devil's Arcade / The Rising / Last to Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands // Girls in Their Summer Clothes // Thundercrack // Born to Run // Dancing in the Dark // American Land

High Places played the last set of the day at the Fader Sideshow. This is a band that sounds better with just the right amount of fuzz from crappy equipment: think chugging synth drums and a girl's soft voice paired with thudding bass and some synth steel drums. They would have fit right in with the bill at Bowery that night.

The band plays again tonight at Cake Shop with Gowns, Ecstatic Sunshine, and others.

I am glad White Williams has a band because he could have gotten up there and pushed a bunch of buttons by himself but that would not convey all of the layers of instrumentation in his music. Although he might want to go one more step and get a drummer, even with just synth pads. His album reminds me of Paul Simon at times but I did not get that at the show. The whole band lacked stage presence but behind them there was a mesmerizing projection of moving patterns using things like dancing moneybags and cent characters.

White Williams plays again for FRICTION on Halloween at the Annex with Telepathe.

The two-man act No Age have some explosive songs, which sometimes start with a tranquil static lull but later erupt into feedback, distortion, and crashes. The crowd upfront got pretty rowdy too. No Age is a DIY guitar and drums punk band that really explores the breadth of noise. The band was a bit chatty at first but then started introducing songs with just expletives, which seems more fitting. At the end of the show Randy stepped on his pedal to cycle some sounds, then gave his guitar to a kid dancing on stage and hoisted him on his shoulders to finish the song. It was a cool move.

No Age plays again at Shangri La next Monday with Deerhunter.

Dan Deacon had a slow and awkward start with 20 "Ethan Hawk!" + 5 "Gattaca!" cheers, the second was a retry of the first but both were poor cheers. Since this may be his last tour on the floor, he knew this wasn't good enough to start, so he had the crowd make sea sounds and shushing noises. After he got going, people danced and went crazy. The room went from pitch dark to full lights for people to make a "Price-Is-Right" hi-five lap around the room. Safety first. Also, there were more cameras dancing on stage than people. Oh CMJ.

First off, Bruce Springsteen has just been added to the 2007 New York Comedy Festival. He'll perform at "Stand Up for Heroes: A Benefit for the Bob Woodruff Family Fund," along with Lewis Black, Robin Williams, and others, hosted by Conan O'Brien. The show goes down on November 7th at Town Hall.

Then, On Friday, November 9th, Bruce will perform a solo show at Chelsea Piers at Joe Torre's "Safe at Home" Fondation Fifth Annual Gala. This is a "high end" benefit event, with tickets starting at $3,500 or table packages ranging from $25,000 to $250,000.

For those who don't make a gazillion dollars, you may have found yourself as one of the lucky folks who got tickets to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's second night at Madison Square Garden.

Throughout the show, the band ignored their setlist and just played their heart out. "Town Called Heartbreak" was on the setlist but replaced by "Tougher Than the Rest" and "Meeting Across The River." "Pink Cadallic" was replaced by "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)." During the encore, "Ramrod" from The River was on the setlist but replaced by"Thundercrack."

While I could have done with a couple less tracks from Magic, I was pretty amazed how much better those songs sounded live. "Girls in their Summer Clothes" and "Livin' In The Future" are two tracks that will definitely be on Bruce setlist for many years to come.

The reworked version of "Reason to Believe" was electric. "Candy's Room" into "She's The One" made me go bonkers. Then the perfect segue of "The Promised Land" into "Tougher Than The Rest" into the tour premiere of "Meeting Across The River" into the second tour premiere of the night, "Jungleland!" The all-white, middle-aged crowd (sorry, I didn't see one black, asian, hispanic, etc) were going absolutely bonkers. Seriously, I've never seen so many folks leave their seats to dance in the aisles. It was an amazing show..............

BRUCE SPRINGSTEN | MADISON SQUARE GARDEN | 10-18-2007
Radio Nowhere / Night / Lonesome Day / Gypsy Biker / Magic / Reason to Believe / Candy's Room -> She's The One / Livin' In The Future / The Promised Land / Tougher Than The Rest / Meeting Across The River ->Jungleland / You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) / Devil's Arcade / The Rising / Last To Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands // Girls in their Summer Clothes // Thundercrack // Born to Run // Dancing in The Dark // American Land

(Photo by TomVu)

Foals seemed to make quite an impression on everyone who say any of their five (or more) CMJ shows. I was able to catch them at the After the Jump Fest at thr Music Hall of Williamsburg and was pretty smitten. The Foals easily repertoire easily could be filed somewhere between The Rapture's 1999 debut LP Mirror and their 2001 EP, Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks.

That's not to say that they lack any originality, but their Cure meets Gang of Four sound has become pretty well covered Territory these days. The difference is that some groups do it well and others aren't able to bring any of themselves into the sound collage. At times, Foals do succeed in making the sound their own. When they start sounding to derivative, they did make up for it with a great stage presence.

Foals came off as the perfect type of band to see at CMJ. I was surprised and enjoyed them enough that I now want to follow them further and see what they bring to the table next time they're in town......

First off, Sparks is the most disgusted shit ever made. Oh my lord, it's vile. It also is an excellent (and probably less healthy) substitute for cocaine at 1:30 in the morning, when you find yourself really drunk at a Vice late night party at an overcrwded Cake Shop to see Health and Yeasayer.

Yeasayer is what I imagine Paul Simon would sound like if he was really into exctasy and meth. Somehow the sound works really well. In fact, I think Yeasayer has the highest ratio of ugly to talented. An excellent band to see when your body is absorbing Sparks.

Health also made some noise but I left to save my sanity.

Yeasayer drop a new album on Tuesday. They're hosting a record release party on October 23rd at Glasslands...........

YEASAYER TOUR DATES
Oct 23 9:00P Glasslands Yeasayer Record Release Party Brooklyn, NY
Oct 24 8:00P Rock ’n Roll Hotel w/ Celebration Washington DC
Oct 28 8:00P Crown Point Festival at Abrons Art Center New York, NY

A very packed Crash Mansion played host to MGMT, the buzzed about Brooklyn psych-rock band that is about to go on tour with Of Montreal. I wouldn't say the blew everyone away, but they certainly didn't disappoint. They do have some top-notch tracks that I can see developing into some "A" level material. A young band that needs to spend a year on the road and come back dazed and confused and beaten and bruised and put that madness into their music and then they're probably write something brilliant........

MGMT TOUR (OPENING FOR OF MONTREAL)
Oct 31 40 Watt Club Athens, Georgia
Nov 1 House of Blues New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana
Nov 2 Numbers Houston, Texas
Nov 3 Fun Fun Fun Fest Austin, Texas
Nov 4 Granada Theater Dallas, Texas
Nov 5 Club 101 El Paso, Texas
Nov 6 Marquee Theater Tempe, Arizona
Nov 7 Rialto Theater Tucson, Arizona
Nov 8 Avalon Hollywood, California
Nov 9 Avalon Hollywood, California
Nov 10 UCSD Mandeville Auditorium La Jolla, California
Nov 11 The Glass House Pomona, California
Nov 12 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California
Nov 13 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California
Nov 14 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California
Nov 16 In The Venue Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 17 Ogden Theatre Denver, Colorado
Nov 18 Liberty Worship Center Lawrence, Kansas
Nov 19 The Pageant St Louis, Missouri

Foreign Islands have a commercial ready post-hardcore sound that is in need of one song that has that something-something that radio programmers need (i.e. money being thrown at them by a major label). My feat is that they're going to become yet another post-hardcore outfit to end up writing some super-wimpy power-pop ballad that will become a gigantic smash hit (maybe something like Sugar Ray's "Every Morning") and then no one coming to see them will want to hear their post-punk, which is really quite good.

The band has an excellent stage pressence and have some killer songs. I was a bit taken aback by all the added sound-effects, like mysterious backing track vocals coming from nowhere and synth parts being played by ghosts, but otherwise they have enough energy on stage to power a racecar.......

Fueled on Sparks (thanks Vice!), Team PSNYC, along with Amrit from Stereogum, headed over to the Blender Theatre for a late night Blender Magazine party featuring a "surprise" set from Band of Horses.

This summer, I saw the Horses twice, once at the New York Magazine Hiro Ballroom bad art auction and again at McCarren Pool. Neither one of those shows really blew me away. Maybe it was to hot to enjoy their laid back summer stylings? Or maybe they just weren't very engaging in those live settings. and I wasn't really into the tracks from Cease To Begin.

It's been a couple months since I've had the album and can say that I'm now totally into it. While Cease to Begin took awhile to really become an enjoyable album to me, I'm now totally in love with it. It's a wonderful and, dare I say, romantic record.

Playing a double guitar at 3am at the Blender Theatre, Band of Horses seemed to be on an energy high. The room was swept into their collective heartbeat as the band played through a strong, but way to short, set. The new songs sounded wonderful live and the band even ended the show with an excellent soul cover that I can't remember.

On a final note, all of the Band of Horses have excellent shoes. Our little posse all noticed them and I just had to take a picture. Notice that he's not even wearing bootcut pants, which his cowboy boots clearly call for. Excellent shows. I may have to go and get myself a pair.....

As Flosstradamus was finishing up their Bar Mitzvah inspired set (I'm all for throwing in some old school hip-hop, but they really spun wwwaaaaayyyyy to many old school jams into the mix), Brooklyn's favorite married couple rock outfit started setting up their gear at the front of the stage.

It was one of those personal, no ego moments, that have made this band liked by so many people and peers. As the Flossers closed their set with a crowd sing-along to Weezer's "Say It Ain't So," Matt & Kim took the stage for their last Brooklyn show of the year. (They're off to write album number two).

The crowd went bonkers the second the first keyboard note was fired off. Smiling like crazy and wearing a No Age t-shirt, Kim seemed to be having an absolute blast.

At times, the cynic in me thinks that their "I so fucking love this and this is the best show ever" thing is a total act, but then you watch them perform and you watch the crowd and its infectious. I don't know how Matt & Kim were able to make people this freaking happy or what it is about their music, but they have certainly created something that is very special.

The banter with the crowd was also in top form. Someone even asked, "Are you always this happy?" To which Matt replied, "No. I swear. We've been on the road for so long now and the last three weeks I've been in a bad mood and kind of depressed. Ask Kim." As if we didn't believe him!

Another heckler screamed out, "When you two going to have a baby!?!" Which nearly knocked Matt and Kim right off their stools. With a nervous laugh and loving glance at Kim, Matt replied, "Oh man, I'm just no their yet." Kim kind of smiled but yeah.

Matt & Kim also gave tons of props to the Bowery crew for letting them put on a $5 show at one of their venues. And after a week of dealing with horrible security (a cunt on a power-trip at Madison Square Garden, everyone who works for The Fuckmore East at Irving Plaza), it really is enjoyable to deal with the Bowery folks, all of whom really are cool motherfuckas. So props to the Bowery Presents for being so great.

Anyway. Another super fun Brooklyn show by Matt & Kim. We can't wait until 2008 to see you again......

Thos who arrived at the Fleet Team showcase at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday at 9pm to watch The Art Goblins were sadly disappointed when they did not play. As the night went on, the members of The Art Goblins were seen walking around the venue, watching the other acts, which just left everyone a bit miffed.

The Art Goblins are Art Brut and it was no secret that they were supposed to play. Towards the end of Matt & Kim's set, I found myself standing next to Eddie Argus and asked why they didn't play. He responded, "Yeah, kind of a mistake. We're going to play a set outside the venue right when Matt & Kim are finished though. It'll actually be inside by the exit doors. Should be fun." And indeed it was.

Only an amp for the guitar and bass, a tamborine, and no working microphone, but still The Art Goblins were able to bang out three and a half songs in the Music Hall's lobby. Not as much as I'd have liked them to play and not as good sounding as it would have been if they played on stage. Nor could anyone really hear Eddie sing "My Little Brother" or "Direct Hit." Neither could I tell what the hell the other two songs were even though I was right next to them. Still though, it was indeed a fun set.........

Playing in front of a stack of Marshall amps and their gigantic light-up cross, French duo Justice nearly broke the floor at Terminal 5. The crowd of parisians, hipsters and assorted eurotrash all seemed to come together to bop til they dropped.

Justice plays a second show at Terminal 5 in New York City on Monday. As of right now, tickets are still available. (Photos by Pocketmonsterd).....

The industrial scene just lost one of their greats....

Ministry's bassist Paul Raven was found dead today in a private home in a small French village on the Swiss border. Initial reports indicate Raven's passing was due to a heart attack. Raven (known also for his work with Killing Joke, Prong) was in Geneva working with French recording artists Treponem Pal on their new release, with Marco Neves, Ted Parsons (Prong) and members of The Young Gods.

Born in Wolverhampton UK on January 16, 1961, Paul Vincent Raven established himself with his work in the seminal post-punk/industrial group Killing Joke when, in 1982 he replaced the original bassist for the band, recording and touring with the group throughout its most commercially successful period, performing on Fire Dances, Night Time and Brighter than a Thousand Suns. Throughout his extensive career, Raven participated in other collaborations including Prong, Murder, Inc., Pigface, Godflesh.

Most recently, Raven was nominated for a 2006 Grammy for Best Metal Performance for his work with Ministry's Al Jourgensen, with whom he had begun working with in late 2005 on the 13th Planet release Rio Grande Blood. After a 2006 World Tour with Ministry, Raven helped Jourgensen and Prong's Tommy Victor pen the September 18, 2006 Ministry release The Last Sucker, Ministry's final studio release.

States Jourgensen: "I am in total shock. The world of music is a sadder, emptier place. Not only was Raven an extraordinary talent, but one of my closest dearest friends. Our condolences and prayers go to his immediate family. He will be truly missed by artists, musicians and his fans the world over."

A select group of radical Palestinians are so against any sort of peace that they threatened to kill the organizers of a peace concert in the West Bank, that was schedule to coincide with a peace conert in Tel Aviv. Here's the story:

Simultaneous peace concerts in Tel Aviv and the West Bank town of Jericho were called off after threats were made to Palestinians supporting the event, which was free of charge to those who would sign a petition for peace. The New York-based One Voice organization planned the shows to support their campaign to collect a million signatures from Israelis and Palestinians in hopes of helping achieve a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict by October 2008.

Because of security concerns, including threats to blow up the West Bank office of One Voice, the show in Jericho was called off the second week of October. The Tel Aviv concert was canceled in solidarity October 14th.

Our mission is not to entertain - It is to mobilize moderate voices," said One Voice founder Daniel Lubetzky. "If we have to postpone, we have to postpone."

Around 600,000 Palestinians and Israelis had signed on to support One Voice's plan for peace through negotiations.

Many Palestinians had criticized One Voice for not having a strong enough stance in defending Palestinian demands, such as the right of return for refugees to the lands they left or were forced to flee following the Israeli-Arab war in 1948. Some leading Palestinians who initially supported the event chose to instead keep their distance from the organization.

J.K. Rowling did two rare readings and signings on Friday at Carnegie Hall in New York City. At the 7pm event, she responded to a question about Albus Dumbledore's love life saying that he was gay. Who knew?!?!

WHICH T-SHIRT SHOULD WE MAKE?
A) I'm Queer For Albus
B) Dumbledore Loves Dick
C) GLAAD To Be A Hogwarts Student
D) Conservative Wizard's Against Dumbledore

The OiNK offices have been raided and the website has been completely shut down. The site, which was members-only and operated a strict invite and torrent seeding policy, was a hotspot for early album leaks. Here's the story:

British and Dutch police shut down one of the world's largest sources of illegal pre-release music on Tuesday and arrested a 24-year-old man.

The raids in Amsterdam and the northeast English city of Middlesbrough followed a two-year investigation into a members-only Web site, www.OiNK.cd, which allowed users to upload and download albums before their release.

The first new Verve track has been posted by NME. The 14 minute epic ain't bad. What you think.......

CLICK HERE: The Verve - "The Thaw Sessions"

Jay Z is heading out on tour to promote "American Gangster," his second album album since announcing his retirement. Tickets for his November 11th Hammerstein Ballroom went on sale yesterday and immediately sold out.

"American Gangster" is a concept album, most of which was produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs, that was inspired by the upcoming Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe film.

Jay-Z stated that he recorded nine tracks for the album, with almost every one of them based on a specific scene from the film. Def Jam's Senior Vice President of Marketing Tracey Waples also noted that each track from the album will have its own "mini-film".

JAY Z TOUR DATES
November 6 Los Angeles House Of Blues
November 7 Chicago House Of Blues
November 9 Baltimore Ram's Head
November 11 New Yor